Tina Dybvik (Children's Literature)
Sallie is a hardworking eight-year-old-girl who dreams of pretty ribbons to bind her braids. There are no modern diversions where she lives on Cumbo road, so it is a big event when a traveling salesman arrives every Saturday. Unfortunately, the money that she earns working summers in the fields must be saved for more sensible school clothes. Her father is away at war, and if she wants a luxury like hair ribbons, she must raise the extra cash herself. Moses’s style and Daly’s illustrations are reminiscent of Lois Lenske’s work and include ideas about money and happiness that are a welcome message for this disposable world. These values create an authentic 20th century setting--and it is a little distressing to realize they are nostalgic. Church-going is as normal as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The truth is a way of life, and the pain of deception seems authentic without preaching. Overall, a very nice reminder of the things that really matter. 2007, Scholastic Press, $15.99. Ages 7 to 10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 16))
Eight-year-old Sallie Gal desperately wants hair ribbons like her cousin Wild Cat's, but with her father away in the army, times are hard on Cumbo Road and her mother insists she work to pay for them. Sallie and her cousins already chop weeds in the cotton fields five days a week and a half-day on Saturday, but that money will go for school clothes. With initiative and diligence, Sallie achieves her goal, but not before she gets into trouble with her mama for taking charity and keeping a secret. Set in the rural North Carolina of the author's own childhood, this is a clear depiction of the mid-century world of African-American country folk. These are sharecroppers who shop from the car of the traveling salesman, and the children use the clothesline for a jump rope. But Sallie's need to dress as well as her cousin will be familiar to young readers. Adding to the appeal of the straightforward story and short chapters, Daly's numerous illustrations bring the characters to life. 2007, Scholastic, 160p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 7 to 10. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Laura D'Amato (Library Media Connection, January 2008)
Young Sallie Gal learns the value of hard work and honesty in this chapter book for young readers. Set in North Carolina in the 1960's, Sallie Gal and Momma live on a sharecropper farm and work diligently to make ends meet while Papa is fighting in the Vietnam War. Sallie Gal wants some hair ribbons, but she has no money. After the Wall-a-kee Man, a traveling salesman, starts visiting, Sallie Gal, her cousin, and their friend hatch a few plans to earn money. The Wall-a-kee Man gives Sallie Gal the ribbons even though she knows her Momma would refuse this act of charity. In the end, Sallie Gal returns the ribbons and purchases them herself after getting birthday money from her father. The chapters are a good length for those students who are not yet ready for full-length chapter books. The author subtly defines terms within the text, and the setting and characters draw upon the author's own life and offer a look back at a different era. Black and white drawings help break up the text. While the resolution is a bit "pat," readers will no doubt be pleased by Sallie Gal's joy. Recommended. 2007, Scholastic, 160pp., $15.99 hc. Ages 7 to 11.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, February 2008 (Vol. 61, No. 6))
Sallie Gal wants nothing more than colorful hair ribbons like her cousin Wild Cat, but she knows that, with her dad away in Vietnam, money is too tight for such extravagances and her mother is too proud to take even the slightest bit of charity. When a traveling salesman from the Wallace Company (which Wild Cat misreads as Wall-a-Kee, a name that sticks) shows up, she begins to plot ways to earn her own money for hair ribbons. The girls open a lemonade stand, but when Sallie Gal breaks Momma’s good pitcher, she’s even further behind than when she started. Things get even more complicated when the Wall-a-Kee man gives Sallie Gal some hair ribbons and she accepts, even though she knows her mother would not approve. Moses captures the frustration of working too hard for too little pay and the angst of keeping secrets you know will disappoint in this old-fashioned moral tale. In the tradition of Maria Edgeworth, however, she also honors the energy and voice of her characters so that the theme doesn’t overwhelm the pleasure in the storytelling. Energetic black-and-white illustrations, digitally created but resembling ink, graphite, and watercolor, capture the many moods of Sallie Gal and Wild Cat, always calling attention to their multiple ponytails in perpetual motion. An author’s note informs readers that this is set in Moses’ beloved Rich Square, North Carolina, and accurately reflects the shopping practices and everyday hopes and dreams of folks there forty years ago Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, Scholastic, 152p., $15.99. Grades 2-4.